Party impresario and hospitality pro Jeffrey Best of Best Events — who handled Britney Spears’ wedding and Sean Combs’ BET Awards afterparty — is opening his first restaurant in Beverly Hills. Due to debut in late July, the spot will take over a partially hidden, below-street-level space on Rodeo Drive.

Aptly named The Hideaway, Best’s new offering counts nightlife veteran Sylvain Bitton (Warwick) as a co-owner and actors Ryan Phillippe and Evan Ross as investors — a nod to the entertainment industry’s likely presence at the elevated Mexican surf-and-turf spot.

Says Ross: “My partners and I envisioned a space that could be a home for all our old friends to gather for decades to come alongside new friends we have yet to meet. We have created a vibrant restaurant and bar that will welcome guests from lunch until late into the night.” Adds Phillippe, “Our team has spent years developing this concept and fine-tuning every detail.”

Inspired by adolescent road trips with friends to Puerto Nuevo, Baja California, Best tells THR that he wants to re-create the feeling — and taste — of the small coastal food stands he remembers fondly, which offered handmade tortillas filled with fresh, locally caught fish and other fire-grilled proteins, all dressed with an abundance of salsas.

“It was the epitome of ocean-to-table,” Best says. “My career in the restaurant industry is based off this idea I have of food or beverage memory … food memory, to me, is the heart of why you go back to a certain restaurant or don’t. Why you long for that one thing from that one place because you loved it.”

Best has brought on longtime collaborators Alex Moreno (formerly executive chef at Best’s Habana Restaurant in Irvine) and Viet Pham (formerly executive chef at Best’s Firefly in Studio City) to head up the menu and has tapped Julian Cox (Bestia, Otium) for the cocktail offerings, which will include a sweet and sour margarita made with blanco and reposado tequila.

A unique feature that The Hideaway promises is tableside tequila service: Diners can press a button that signals staff to bring more of the tequila of one’s choice.

According to Best, it’s his “dream to do this type of restaurant,” which boasts intimate cabanas and a central fireplace on a generously sized patio, with design elements that suggest Old Hollywood leisure.

And beyond the fusion of eras at The Hideaway, Best’s newest restaurant also explores various flavor blends. A wasabi-guacamole sauce he’s dubbed “guacasabi” is an experiment in “cross-pollinating different things to add to the protein.”

This story first appeared in the July 15 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.